Kyle Schwarber caps dramatic comeback with walk-off home run as Phillies sweep Cardinals

Alex Coffey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 23, 2026

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — It looked like the Phillies’ eight-game winning streak would end in a whimper against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. Entering the ninth inning, they had recorded only four hits and no runs.

Instead, it continued on, with one of their most triumphant wins of the season. Down to their final out, the Phillies struck back to sweep the Cardinals with a 6-4 walk-off victory.

Bryce Harper led off the ninth inning with a double to left field, but Luis Arraez popped up in the subsequent at-bat and Brandon Marsh flied out to left center. With two outs, J.T. Realmuto lined a two-out single to center field that advanced Harper to third base.

Realmuto advanced to second base on defensive indifference. Justin Crawford drew a walk to load the bases and bring Edmundo Sosa. Sosa lined a double down the left field line that just barely stayed fair, and scored three runs.

Bryan De La Cruz drove in Sosa with a single to left field to tie the game and continue the two-out rally. Phillies closer Jhoan Duran began warming in the bullpen as Kyle Schwarber walked up to the plate, eager to end the game, right then and there.

He did. After climbing back from 0-2, Schwarber crushed a 459-foot home run to center field, flipped his helmet and jogged around the bases as the players sprinted onto the field. It was the Phillies’ first walk-off home run since Schwarber hit one in June 2023.

The Phillies (73-58) will now embark on a nine-game West Coast road trip following nine straight wins dating back to their trip to Iowa for the Field of Dreams Game. To say they’ve made up ground in the wild-card race would be an understatement; on Aug. 12, they were 9.5 games behind Atlanta, and 6.5 behind the Cubs.

They now hold the second National League wild-card spot, just two games behind Chicago.

Bryson Stott injury scare

In the bottom of the sixth, Bryson Stott took a foul ball off his right foot in the midst of his at-bat; the trainers visited him at home plate briefly. He remained in the game but was later removed in the eighth inning, with a right foot contusion. Arraez replaced him at second base.

Interim manager Don Mattingly said after the game that X-rays on Stott’s foot were negative and they’ll see how he feels tomorrow.

Good outing for Sánchez

This initial lack of offensive output didn’t give starter Cristopher Sánchez much room for error. And while he pitched well — fanning seven Cardinals across 6 2/3 innings — he was not dominant. The left-handed pitcher allowed four runs on nine hits with no walks.

He allowed quite a bit of hard contact; of those nine hits allowed, six came off the bat at 95 mph or harder.